LEADER S RESOURCE. Study Guide Contents and General Process Suggestions. Preparation Notes for Group Leaders

Transcription

1 LEADER S RESOURCE Study Guide Cotets ad Geeral Process Suggestios 1. The 2013 Christia Study Guide icludes six small-group sessios rooted i the cotet of the 2013 Huger Report, Withi Reach Global Developmet Goals. Sessio 1 sets the cotext, while the followig five sessios develop particular themes emphasized i the Huger Report. If your group caot do all the sessios, we recommed that you do Sessio 1 before ay others. 2. We aticipate that each sessio will have a facilitator, but the leader eeds o specific expertise o the report s cotet to facilitate the sessio. 3. The study guide is desiged for Christias of may theological ad political viewpoits. You should feel free to adapt the guide to ehace the experiece for your group. The sectio below, Preparatio Notes for Group Leaders, steers your group to websites relatig social policies to differet Christia traditios. 4. The guide will direct participats to read relevat sectios of the Huger Report durig the sessios. Withi Reach Global Developmet Goals ad www. bread.org/go/huger2013 are filled with detailed aalysis, statistics, ad stories, so additioal readig will erich your coversatio, but it is ot required. Additioally, org cotais a plethora of resources. 5. Each sessio icludes: The Applicatio: Activities to egage group members i aalyzig curret realities, usig cotet from the Huger Report ad their life experieces. 6. The sessios as writte may take a hour to 90 miutes each, but should be adapted to meet the schedulig eeds of the group. We ivite you to ope ad close each sessio with prayer, especially rememberig those most affected by the topics that you discuss. Preparatio Notes for Group Leaders 1. At least oe Bible is required for each sessio. Participats could be ecouraged to brig additioal traslatios. 2. It will be helpful to have a copy of the sessio materials for each participat. 3. After you familiarize yourself with the outlie of the sessio, you may adapt the activities to best serve the eeds of your group. 4. To lear more about social policy i your ow Christia traditio, visit the website of your deomiatio or atioal group. Sometimes these iclude a discussio of social policies. You might also visit: Natioal Associatio of Evagelicals Natioal Coucil of Cofereces of Churches The Word: Biblical reflectio materials ad questios. U.S. Coferece of Catholic Bishops The Issues: A summary of the theme as preseted i the Huger Report, alog with reflectio questios. 5. Most sessios iclude activities usig ewsprit, a flip-chart, or a whiteboard. 1 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

2 LEADER S RESOURCE Ideas for Further Actio We hope the Study Guide stimulates further iterest i the issues discussed i the Huger Report. Here are suggestios for activities to egage your group beyod this Study Guide. withi reach global developmet goals 2013 huger report 1. Lear from firsthad experiece Fid a way for your group to sped time with someoe whose life experiece has give him or her persoal kowledge of huger, farmig, ad/ or U.S. developmet assistace. 2. Egage with Bread for the World a. Bread for the World s Offerig of Letters. Each year, Bread for the World ivites churches ad campus groups across the coutry to take up Offerigs of Letters to Cogress o issues that are importat to hugry ad poor people. The Offerig of Letters eables idividuals to see their cocers traslated ito policies that help hugry ad poor people improve their lives. To lear more about Bread for the World s Offerig of Letters this year, visit www. bread.org/ol b. Cotact your Bread for the World Regioal Orgaizer. c. Visit us at to read the Bread Blog ad Istitute Notes blog. Fid us o Facebook ad follow us o twitter@bread4theworld. 3. Write to your state or local represetative Write to your represetative i the city coucil, state assembly, or Cogress to share your thoughts ad cocers about food ad farm policy. 4. Lear what your deomiatio or atioal associatio is doig related to huger ad poverty Group Leaders: for otes about specific sessios, see Huger Report 2

3 1 Sessio 1: The Church as a Voice for Comprehesive Developmet The Word Read Acts 2:42-47 ad Proverbs 29:18 As the Milleium Developmet Goals (MDGs) draw closer to their 2015 deadlie, all atios will oce agai be draw ito a discussio of how they ca work together to help more tha a billio people escape extreme poverty ad huger. As Christias, we do ot have to woder what true commuity looks like; we oly have to read the book of Acts. To ed huger ad poverty, it is goig to take a similarly radical dedicatio to the other. The Gospel message is ot oly oe of eteral salvatio, but a distict way of life usherig i the Kigdom of God o earth as it is i heave. I fact, early Christias simply referred to the fledglig system of belief as the Way. As followers of Christ ad accepters of the love of God, we have a resposibility ad a missio to be leaders to exted the grace of the Gospel to all. Tacklig a issue such as global poverty will take a clear visio as show by the MDGs. Christias should be able to idetify policies that will promote the trasformatio of impoverished commuities ad to become vocal leaders i the executio of those ideas. 1. What does it mea to you for Christiaity to be called The Way? 2. Cosider the example of the early church from Acts 2, how might this be applied globally? The Issues Fightig poverty ad huger o a global scale will take tremedous plaig ad visio. The MDGs, though ot perfect, represet a comprehesive visio. Before the MDGs were established i the year 2000, developmet was commoly viewed i terms of a atio s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This failed to properly take ito accout the multi-faceted dimesios of poverty ad huger. The MDGs formed the first global agreemet that sought to fight poverty ad huger o several differet frots, icludig poor health, lack of educatio, geder discrimiatio, ad squalid livig coditios. I additio, the MDGs marked the first time that the iteratioal commuity came together to focus o fightig poverty ad huger i terms of a partership. While much work remais to be doe, the MDGs ushered i a more disciplied approach to quatifyig progress. Progress o the goals themselves is ueve, but several coutries are reportig sigificat improvemets i reducig poverty a catalyst for progress agaist other related hardships. 3 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

4 Sessio 1: The Church as a Voice for Comprehesive Developmet Questios 1. How do you use goals i your ow life? What type of plas have you made to overcome challeges i your life ad how did God help you through those situatios? 2. Thik of a time you participated i a group project. What worked well i the plaig? What role did uity ad a cohesive visio play i the success or failure of the project? The Applicatio 1. Gather your group together ad tell them you are goig to have a discussio to decide what sacks to brig to the ext meetig, but first they will be drawig slips of paper that describe their role i the discussio (See otes about this sessio olie at Have each perso blidly draw for a role without revealig it. The attempt to come to a decisio about which sacks to brig to the ext meetig. After a few miutes, reveal their roles to each other ad discuss the difficulties of makig a decisio without uity or a clear visio. UN Photo/Kibae Park 2. Itroduce the religious leaders statemet o page 1, otig the broad group of leaders that have siged it. Usig the statemet ad the list of MDGs o page 11, create a mockpress release relatig the MDGs to your ow commuity. Suggestio: you could hold a mock-press coferece i order to iform the rest of your commuity about what you are learig Huger Report 4

5 2 Sessio 2: The Face of Poverty Has Chaged The Word Read Luke 10:25-37 The parable of the good Samarita is Jesus respose to the questio who is my eighbor? The Jewish people who followed Jesus despised Samaritas ad cosidered them secod class citizes. Thus, they would ot have bee prepared to hear Jesus say that a Samarita modeled faithfuless. Jesus said the Samarita was a eighbor because he showed mercy by carig for someoe i eed. Jesus told his listeers go ad do likewise. 1. Who do you picture whe you thik of people i eed? 2. Where are the people closest to you who are strugglig with huger ad poverty? 3. How is Jesus callig you to be a good eighbor? What does go ad do likewise mea for us i the cotext of global poverty? The Issues The face of poverty has chaged sice the MDGs were lauched. I 1990, the baselie year for the MDGs, 93 percet of the world s poor people lived i low-icome, coflict-affected or fragile states. But ow it is estimated that 72 percet of the world s poor live i middle-icome coutries. We have see growig iequalities betwee the highest ad lowest icome brackets i developig coutries; ecoomic growth i developig coutries teds to reach the poorest 20 percet slower tha higher icome groups. Therefore, poverty could be viewed as a atioal distributio problem. The 2013 Huger Report also explores a umber of iterrelated issues, such as the relatioship betwee climate chage ad poverty reductio, the importace of poverty i poorer coutries as a push factor for immigratio, ad the coectios betwee iteratioal trade ad huger. Despite the complexities of edig huger ad poverty, the ext set of global developmet goals must help those who are eediest, wherever they are. Questios 1. Read pages i Chapter 1, which describe the Multidimesioal Poverty Idex. Why does this idex tell us more about the challeges facig our poorest eighbors tha a simple report o their icome? 2. Read the Coclusio, startig o page 145. Is your worldview more like the author s or his gradfather s? How does techology ifluece whom you cosider to be your eighbors? 5 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

6 Sessio 2: The Face of Poverty Has Chaged The Applicatio 1. Visit the Iteractive Data sectio of the 2013 Huger Report website ad lear about huger (food isecurity) i your couty ad state. The use the iteractive map to compare your couty to others i the state. What would it take for your commuity to achieve MDG 1: halvig poverty ad huger by 2015? Fid a way to teach members of your cogregatio what you leared about your eighbors. 2. The Norther Triagle Ad Just South of the Border o page 99 of the Huger Report discusses remittaces set to home coutries by immigrats. Divide a flipchart page or a whiteboard i half ad label oe half remittaces ad the other half foreig assistace. For each category, write dow who beefits from it (some of the same people/groups might be listed o both sides) ad the put a check mark ext to each group that will beefit i the short term ad circle each group that will beefit i the log term. What do you otice? (For more iformatio o remittaces, you ca read the followig article i the Natioal Joural olie by Adrew Waier, author of The Norther Triagle Ad Just South of the Border:" theextamerica/ecoomy/opiio-remittaces-ad-the-iteratioal-americadream ) UN Photo/Eskider Debebe 2013 Huger Report 6

7 3 Sessio 3: The Last Shall Be First: A Model of Ivestmet The Word Read Mark 10: ad Matthew 25:14-30 The passage from Matthew has had may iterpretatios over the ceturies. Here we offer its focus o ivestmet as a iterestig frame for our discussio of developmet. Oe could follow this lie of thought ad see that some ivestmets have bee more successful tha others i achievig the MDGs. Coupled with the passage from Mark istructig us that the last shall be first ad the first shall be last, it makes sese that the values iheret i our visio of ivestig i developmet would be differet from those ot iformed by Christia teachig. Ivestig i the poorest of the poor, while more challegig i terms of achievig the curret MDGs, is a value put forth by Jesus as he is speakig to his disciples. However, the lesso of the servat with oe talet also teaches us that the poorest of the poor are themselves resposible for ivestig well. Effective developmet will take cooperatio, traiig, ad a strog effort from all ivolved. While coutries should seek to ivest i the poorest idividuals, doors must remove barriers that ihibit recipiets from usig their ivestmet successfully. 1. What are talets possessed by high-icome coutries? By middle-icome coutries? By low-icome coutries? 2. As you reflect o global developmet, what might it look like for the last to become first? The Issues Ivestig i developmet leads to less poverty ad huger, better health outcomes, lower ifat mortality rates, ad stroger ecoomies. It is particularly importat to ivest i margialized populatios ad to address their priorities whe developig poverty-reductio strategies. Oe such priority is utritio, especially durig the 1,000 day-widow betwee pregacy ad a child s secod birthday. Ivestig i utritio durig this critical time ca improve materal health ad child developmet. With stroger immue systems, childre are less susceptible to disease, which leads to healthcare savigs. With more itellectual capacity, childre do better i school ad ear more icome across their lifetime. Ivestig i utritio ca lead to icreases of 2-3 percet i a developig coutry s GDP. A recet report otes that every $1 ivested i utritio ca yield returs as high as $138. Questios 1. Read Improvig Nutritio Outcomes i Bagladesh o pages ad watch the Huger Report video at Discuss the story i light of the Huger Report theme of ivestig i the least of these. 7 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

8 Sessio 3: The Last Shall Be First: A Model of Ivestmet 2. Wome are a example of groups that are margialized due to iequalities. Look at Figure i.7 o page 22 called Sub-Sahara Africa Loses More Huma Developmet Gais to Iequality. The HDI is the Huma Developmet Idex ad it measures developmet through a series of factors such as life expectacy, literacy, educatio ad stadards of livig ad well-beig, especially child welfare. Notice the gais i developmet that were missed due to iequality. What iequalities (ecoomic, educatioal, geder-related, or racial/ethic) are you aware of i the Uited States? How do they impact poverty? The Applicatio 1. Take a look at Table 2.3 o page 73 called Focusig o the Household: Mother ad Child-Cetered Itervetios to Reduce Malutritio ad its Impact. The itervetios listed are idetified as childcetered ad mother-cetered. They are also broke out ito treatmet ad prevetio strategies. Now make a list of the itervetios which ivolve behavior modificatio ad aother list of the itervetios which ivolve removig access barriers. What surprises you? What did you lear? Are ay of the itervetios familiar to you? How are these itervetios ivestmets? Laura Elizabeth Pohl 2. Go to Figure i.3 o page 17 called Nutritio Outcomes Are at the Itersectio of Food Security ad Huma Developmet. Use this figure as a frame for tellig the story of your life. What were your utritioal issues? How were they addressed through your life? Talk about your access to utritio ad the impact o you of access or lack thereof. There are several key ideas i Figure i.3. Discuss how the compoets of this figure impact oe aother. What do each of these look like i real life? Huger Report 8

9 4 Sessio 4: Developmet Should Iclude All Voices The Word Read Matthew 20: 29-34; Mark 10:46-52; ad Luke 18:35-43 You will otice that these are three versios of the same story. I each, Jesus is called as he walks by a blid ma (or me as the Matthew text reads). Ad whe the people try to quiet him, Jesus turs ad calls to the blid perso/s. He the asks what they wat before presumig that they wat to see. I Jesus healig works ad miracles, he respods to people s particular eeds. It is temptig to assume that we kow what is best for someoe else, but eve whe Jesus is healig a blid perso, he hears directly from the idividual/s about what they wat. It is importat that the strategies for achievig the MDGs ad developig ew goals beyod 2015 iclude the importat voices of those who seek assistace. Those with great resources (ad talets) ofte thik that they have all the aswers, but it is i parterig with ad listeig to people i poverty that we ca lear how to develop creative ad targeted strategies that will have the greatest impact. 1. Thik of a time whe you assumed you kew best what someoe eeded, but leared later that you were off base. How could you have chaged your approach to the situatio to have a better outcome? 2. Imagie this o a broader scale. How ca we lose sight of the goal by imposig our ow strategies ad requiremets whe tryig to assist other people? The Issues Traditioal approaches to developmet assistace have bee mostly top-dow with door coutries decidig how developmet assistace should be used i recipiet coutries. This tred is begiig to shift towards supportig the goals ad priorities of the recipiet coutries. Door coutries are ow more willig to treat recipiet coutries as parters. As this shift occurs, it is importat for doors to esure that wome ad civil society groups are ivolved i defiig their coutry s developmet priorities. Additioally, doors ad ogovermetal orgaizatios (NGOs) that implemet developmet assistace must coordiate their efforts with these coutry-led strategies. The aid ladscape has gotte more complicated as middle-icome coutries become doors themselves. Middle-icome coutries face may developmet challeges withi their ow borders related to iequality. High-icome coutries, icludig the Uited States, also eed to address iequality. 9 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

10 Sessio 4: Developmet Should Iclude All Voices Questios 1. Read o page 61 about the Iteratioal Moetary Fud (IMF) ad World Bak loa requiremets for debt relief. Also, read pages 66 about South Korea s pla to use U.S. developmet assistace for a ifrastructure project. The U.S. govermet rejected the pla, so the Korea govermet wet ahead ad paid for the project itself ad it yielded a spectacular retur o ivestmet. What ca we lear from these examples? How should parters work together i such situatios? 2. Recall the activity you did i Sessio 1 whe the group came together to make a decisio. How would the process have bee differet if oe or more persos did t have a voice? For example, if the decisio was to brig peaut butter ad jelly sadwiches for sacks the ext week, what would happe if the perso allergic to peauts could t participate i the discussio? The Applicatio 1. Read the article o pages , Trasitioig to Local Owership. Make a chart with three colums. I the first colum list examples of what made the trasitio successful. I the secod colum, list qualities that describe the role of the U.S. Govermet? Ad i the third colum, list qualities that describe the role of the NGOs ivolved. 2. Thik of a situatio whe oe perso eeded to borrow moey from aother perso. This could be a child borrowig moey from a paret for college, a fried borrowig moey from aother fried for a dow paymet o somethig, or a idividual borrowig moey from a bak to buy a car or house. What might be spoke or uspoke expectatios aroud the use of the moey? Do those requiremets chage if the situatio chages, or are the requiremets fixed? Todd Post 2013 Huger Report 10

11 5 Sessio 5: Just Govermets Have a Role i Creatig Positive Chage The Word Read Romas 13: 3-4 ad Isaiah 55:3-5 The verses from Romas are about leaders who are just. Oe way to feel the power of these verses is to read them with the opposite meaig, that is replacig the word good with evil ad vice versa. For example, For he is God s miister to you for evil if you do good, be afraid; for he does ot bear the sword i vai; for he is God s miister, a aveger to execute wrath o him who practices good. Soud wrog? Of course it does. These verses have bee used to justify followig eve the most deplorable of leaders. However, i the scriptures, God clearly calls people ad their leaders to seek justice. Old Testamet law reflects divie cocer for poor people ad the systems that keep or make people poor. The Isaiah passage establishes Israel as a Earthly example of God s rule. God is promisig that as Israel is established uder the way of God, other atios will seek to be like Israel ad follow God. This is ot to suggest that ay govermet is ow God s chose atio for others to follow. However, there is defiitely a cocept here that should be oted. If a atio s govermet shows idepedet iitiatives i solvig issues, such as poverty ad huger, the other atios are sure to follow that example. Just leadership is absolutely crucial to beig able to produce the wide-scale trasformatio that the MDGs seek. Not oly should the MDGs focus o just leadership, but Christias should uderstad that govermet has a role i creatig real trasformatio. 1. Cosiderig the above verses, what role does the leader of a atio have i the establishmet of a just society? 2. Romas 13 begs the questio: What do we do if there is a ujust leader? Discuss. The Issues Chapter 3 of the Huger Report otes that Joh Kufuor, former presidet of Ghaa, was the co-laureate of the 2011 World Food Prize for his leadership i makig Ghaa the first sub-sahara Africa coutry to reduce huger ad poverty by half. Kufuor realized that Ghaa s success gave it a good reputatio amog eighborig coutries. I this maer, he felt that Ghaa eeded to cotiue to model good goverace as a atio 11 Christia Study Guide Bread for the World Istitute

12 Sessio 5: Just Govermets Have a Role i Creatig Positive Chage so that its eighbors i the regio would do the same. As the report states, The corrosive effects of govermet corruptio are just oe example of how goverace problems udermie progress. Good goverace, o the other had, is a eablig coditio ad a prerequisite to lastig chage. Just govermets play a crucial role i creatig aveues to security ad a huger-free eviromet. They also have a resposibility to serve as a positive example, showig other atios how to be just. Questios 1. I what specific ways ca well govered atios serve as a example for the rest of the world? 2. Look at Figures 3.7 ad 3.8 o page 103 describig the effects of corruptio o ifat mortality ad poverty rates. What differeces do you see? How does a good govermet affect outcomes? The Applicatio 1. Imagie what it would be like to live i a coutry where goverace was a serious problem. What situatios did you imagie? Make a list of your observatios ad save them. You will use them agai after the ext step. UN Photo/Eskider Debebe 2. Look at Table 3.2, Policy Optios for Empowerig the Food Isecure o page 104. Compare ad cotrast the items o this chart with the list from your first activity. What is differet? How do the items o the chart help secure a good life for idividuals i a coutry? Huger Report 12

13 6 Sessio 6: The Uited States Should Exercise Leadership The Word Read Exodus 3:7-12, Isaiah 25:6 ad Revelatio 7:6 I the Exodus passage, God offered Moses ad the Israelites a visio of a ew possibility, a promised lad. But this is ot the oly liberatio story i Holy Scripture. The Bible is filled with images ad stories of God s love ad God s desire that all people might fid healig, freedom, ad wholeess. Prophets hold up images like the oe i Isaiah 25:6 of ew possibilities for sufferig people; ad Jesus held up the ultimate visio of a ew possibility whe he spoke of the kigdom (or the reig) of God. Wheever he set forth his disciples, Jesus istructed them to speak of the reig of God ad to do somethig about it. He also said that his followers should pray for God s kigdom to come o earth, as it is i heave. 1. God is workig i our time. As people of God s story, what visios guide you as you imagie a world i which people huger o more? 2. Usig Jesus Good Samarita visio of beig a eighbor (see Sessio 2: The Face of Poverty has Chaged), how should the Uited States be a good eighbor? 3. What power ca the Uited States ad its leaders exercise to ed huger ad poverty? What power ca idividual Christias exercise? The Issues The Uited States has oe of the highest poverty rates ad ifat mortality rates i the idustrialized world. However, with effective leadership, huger could be elimiated i the Uited States withi 10 to 15 years, accordig to the Huger Report. Chapter 4 describes the societal ad ecoomic costs of huger i America ad how chages to our labor market ad our educatio system must be a part of a atioal effort to overcome poverty ad huger. I the past, the Uited States has show the will to address problems at home ad abroad; the Huger Report argues for a similar determiatio ow. Questios Christia Study Guide Read the article startig o page 80, U.S. Leadership ad Global Developmet Goals. Where do you see examples of the sort of leadership beig called for i the Huger Report? Bread for the World Istitute

14 Sessio 6: The Uited States Should Exercise Leadership 2. Remember the coversatio you had i Sessio 5 about well govered atios beig a model for the world. Review the charts Poverty rates by household types with childre o page 131 ad Declie i Ifat Mortality Rates o page 132. Discuss how well you thik the Uited States is servig as a model for other atios. The Applicatio 1. Read the sectio startig o page 134, Marylad s goveror sets a goal to ed childhood huger. Review the list of tasks that help a group reach a goal. Idetify a poverty-related challege facig your commuity. How would you kow if the problem was solved? Make a list of all the data that could measure whether the situatio was improvig. 2. Read the article startig o page 142, Settig the Table. Have differet people i your group imagie that they are Barbie, Leslie, ad Rosie; also have someoe i the group imagie beig a member of Cogress who wats to get the deficit uder cotrol. Stage a scee i which Barbie, Leslie ad Rosie visit the member of Cogress. What would they wat the member of Cogress to kow? Now watch the trailer for A Place at the Table at OL. What do you wat your member of Cogress to kow about how you feel about huger i America? File Photo 2013 Huger Report 14